Roll dispenser



Ju y 24, 1 6 M. B. ANDREWS ETAL 3,045,883

ROLL DISPENSER Filed Aug. 5, 1959 3,@45,883 Patented July 24., 19623,045,883 ROLL DISPENER Mark B. Andrews and William J. Burke, St. Louis,Mo.,

assignors to Roll-O-Sheets, Inc, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Filed Aug. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 831,866 2 Claims. (El. 225-90)This invention relates to improvements in roll dispensers and, inparticular, is concerned with a dispenser for dispensing a roll of webmaterial perforated in sheets by a structure that automatically piercesthe web at the perforated portions so that sheets may be torn therealongwith the end of the web material remaining exposed in order that it maybe readily grasped in the next sheet tearing operation.

By means of this invention there has been provided a roll dispenser forvery conveniently receiving rolls therein. The invention may take theform of a standard having a plurality of troughs receiving the rolls.These troughs are provided with piercing means at one side thereof whichpierces perforations in the web material as it is pulled out and overthe piercing means to tear off a sheet along the perforations on the webmaterial.

In addition, there has been provided in association with the piercingmeans a rest means for the end of the web after the sheet has been tornoff it. This is of great advantage in readily grasping the end of theweb material in the next tearing operation. In handling very thinmaterials such as saran and polyethlyene, which have a tendency to stickand adhere to flat surfaces, there has been quite a problem in the pastin grasping the ends of such material. The rest means provides a restfor the reception of saran and polyethylene, and like materials, whichtend to cling to flat surfaces. By the particular design of this restmeans an end portion of the web is left freely exposed so that it may bereadily grasped and then pulled out over the piercing means while theroll rotates in the trough with the web being pierced and then torn asthe portion of the web having the perforation upon it passes over saidpiercing means.

The roll dispenser of this invention is very simple in design andconstruction and can be used by untrained personnel in various stores orindustrial locations where sheet material is desired to be readily tornfrom a web having transverse perforations. The frame and standard ofthis invention are very simply designed to provide for receiving aplurality of such perforated rolls where different types of rolls anddifferent size sheets are desired to be used, it being understood thatthe rolls may be varied in their type of web material and perforationspacing and the like for use in the different troughs.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a rolldispenser in which a roll can be placed with means for piercingperforations in the roll material in such a manner that the remainingroll material can be readily grasped in the next tearing operation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a roll dispenserhaving a trough for receiving a roll of perforated web material with apointed piercing means at one side of the trough for piercing theintermediate portion of the perforated web as it is pulled over thepiercing means.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a trough forroll material so that sheets may be torn along the perforations in theroll material as the material is pulled over a piercing means and inwhich rest portions are provided adjacent the piercing means forreceiving the ends of the roll material after a sheet has been torn off,while leaving an exposed free edge of the material which can be readilygrasped for the next operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a convenient frameand standard for receiving a plurality of rolls with the piercing andrest means whereby sheets of material may be readily torn off the rolland along perforations thereon without the necessity of so-calledhunting for the end of the roll material after the tearing operation.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a roll dispenserwhich is rugged and simple in design and can be employed by unskilledusers.

Further objects of this invention will appear in the detaileddescription which follows and will be further apparent to those skilledin the art.

For the purpose of illustration of this invention there is shown apreferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawing. It is to beunderstood that these drawings are for the purpose of example only andthat the invention is not limited thereto.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the roll dispenser and frame;

FIGURE 2 is a view in front elevation of the roll dispenser and framewith all rolls being omitted;

FIGURE 3 is a view in rear elevation of the roll dispenser with themiddle roll being omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a view in side elevation taken from the right side ofFIGURES 1 and 2 with the middle roll being omitted;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view in section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE4 showing the manner of securing one of the roll dispensing troughs tothe frame; and

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a perforated roll material with the endof the web stretched out showing the manner of perforation.

The dispenser of this invention is best shown by reference to FIGURES 1through 4 where it is generally illustrated by the reference numeral 10.It is comprised of a frame 11, troughs 12, 13 and 14, piercing means 15,and rest means 16. The frame 11 has two foot elements 18 and 19,respectively, so that it may be placed upon the floor and supportedthereupon. Vertical supports 22 and 23 are connected to the footelements and serve as a support for the troughs.

As best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the troughs 12, 13 and 1.4 are all inthe form of a V-shaped configuration. Trough 13 will be described, itbeing understood that troughs 12 and 14 are identical in construction.The trough 13 is comprised of a back element 2.4 and a front element 25,both of these elements being flat and converging together to form thetrough. The back element 24 is connected to a flange 27 which fits alongthe front of the supports 18 and 19 as a positioning device. Inaddition, the trough is connected to the supports by by brackets 23which are fastened to the bottom of the trough by screws 31 and to thesupports 18 and 19 by fastening elements 32.

The piercing means 15 is best defined by referring to the configurationof the front element 25 of the trough. It will be noted that the topsides of the trough, as shown in FIGURE 1, have sloping edges 34 and 35,which terminate in a point 37. This point, together with the slantingedges 34 and 135, defines the piercing means 15. The rest means 16 isbest shown by referring to FIGURES l, 2 and 4. There it will be seenthat it is formed by two triangularly shaped flanges 3S and 39'. Theseflanges are connected to the trough along the edges '34 and 35 andcoincide with the point 37 of the piercing means. It will further benoted that the flanges 38 and 39 have free edges 41 and 42, whichdiverge slightly from the point 37 toward the roll and the trough. Theangle that each of these forms with the axis of the trough and the rollmay be very slight, as in the order of 5, it being understood that thisangle is not important but that there should be some slanting awaytoward this axis and that the edges 41 3 and 42 should not be parallelto the axis in order that there can be some free exposure of the edge ofthe web material, as will be further described.

The roll material that is employed in this dispenser is generallyreferred to by the numeral 45 in FIGURE 6. As disclosed therein it has acore 46 and a roll of web material 47, which is perforated at intervalsat 48. The perforations define individual sheets, such as 51.

It will be further understood as referred to more fully herein that anidler bar 53, as shown in FIGURES l and 4, may be employed to separatethe web material from the roll as it is being dispensed. This idler baralso aids in maintaining the proper rolling action of the roll andprevents adherence of the web to the roll in the dispensing action.

Use

The dispenser is portrayed ready for use in FIG- URES 1 and 4. As shownin these figures it will be noted that the first sheet 51 has itscorners extending a slight amount beyond the edges 41 and 4-2 of therest means. This makes it possible for the free ends of the sheet to begrasped. For example, the left corner is grasped with the left hand andthe right corner is grasped with the right hand. Then the sheet iswithdrawn horizontally or slightly downwardly until a perforation 48appears over the piercing means and the piercing point 37.

When the perforation 48 rides over the piercing point 37 the perforationis pierced because of the tension placed upon the web in this area andthe sheet tears completely along the perforation 48 in both directionsaway from the point. The separated sheet has then been completelyseparated from the roll While the end of the web appears in the positionshown in FIGURE 1 and in the top and bottom troughs 12 and 14 in FIGURE4. It will be noted that in these figures the end of the web with thenext sheet to be perforated is left in a position for ready grasping inthe next tearing operation.

In the use of the dispenser the idler bar 53 can be i used with fairlylight rolls to prevent any possible resistance against separation of theweb from the remainder of the roll as it is dispensed and also toprevent the roll from riding up out of the trough, since the idler barmay be made of metal and can be of considerable Weight. On the otherhand, where heavy rolls such as that shown in the bottom trough 14 areemployed, such an idler may note be necessary.

In the operation of the dispenser of this invention it has been madeparticularly advantageous for the separation of very thin sheets ofmaterial such as polyethylene from the roll material. Such sheets aspolyethylene, for example, are well known as being difficult to separatefrom the roll because of the tendency to cling to flat surfaces. Thereare a number of explanations for this including the attraction caused bystatic electricity, the thinness of the material, and otherexplanations. However, suflice it to say, this material is quitedifficult to separate into sheet form from roll material or to pick upfrom flat surfaces and the roll dispenser of the instant invention hasprovided a very simple device for this operation.

Although the operation has been described with respect to the simplestmeans for execution, it should be understood that variants can be usedwith this device. Thus,

the web can be withdrawn horizontally and then in a downward directionor can be withdrawn in a generally downward direction away from the rollin such a manner that the piercing point 37 places the greatest amountof pressure at the center of the perforation line 48 as it crosses thispoint. Also, the sheets 51 can be grasped with just one hand after someexperience with the operation of the dispenser by grasping either theleft hand corner or the right hand corner and then withdrawing it in themanner previously described.

Various changes and modifications may be made within this invention aswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes andmodifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention asdefined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A roll dispenser for dispensing transversely scored material in theform of sheets, said dispenser comprising a trough having convergingfront and rear walls for receing a roll of material in web form, saidtrough having means elevated with respect to the trough for piercing theweb along a transverse scoring as the web is pulled out of the troughand across the piercing means, said piercing means comprising a pair offlanged extensions of said front wall having front edges convergng to apoint intermediate the ends of said trough, and said flanged extensionsproviding a rest for the web portion connected to the roll 'whileleaving the end exposed for ready handling in the next sheet tearingoperation, said pair of flanged extensions being oppositely disposed andhaving flat surfaces connected integrally to the front wall of thetrough and converging toward the point of said piercing means, saidflange extensions forming a continuous surface extension with the troughand said flange extension forming an obtuse angle with the front wall ofthe trough.

2. A roll dispenser for dispensing transversely scored material in theform of sheets, said dispenser comprising a trough having convergingfront and rear roll support members for receiving a roll of material inweb form, said trough having piercing means elevated with respect to thetrough for piercing the web along a transverse scoring as the web ispulled out of the trough and across the piercing means, said piercingmeans comprising a pair of extension elements of said front supportmember having front edges converging to a point intermediate the ends ofsaid trough, and said extension elements providing a rest for the webportion connected to the roll while leaving the end exposed for readyhandling in the next sheet tearing operation, said pair of extensionelements being oppositely disposed and being connected integrally to thefront support member of the trough and converging toward the point ofsaid piercing means, said extension elements forming a continuousextension with the trough and said extension elements forming an obtuseangle with the front support member of the trough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

